


Neutral At Last

by scottmon3y



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 18:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11606322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scottmon3y/pseuds/scottmon3y
Summary: Inu and her would be son come to terms. Sort of.





	Neutral At Last

It was dark beneath the mounds of steel, dirt, and other debris. For a moment she thought she'd gone blind in the explosion, but the dark cloud filling up her lungs proved her wrong. 

For a while she pawed at the ground, trying to find her way out. Eventually slivers of light started to poke through. She followed them, then climbed up, up, up, until she popped out of the rubble. She took in a generous helping of air, coughed, then sputtered once more. 

In the distance a crowd was clamoring. The voice addressing them would have been drowned out if not for its natural boom.

"You're free now! All of you are free! Congratulations!"

She sighed.

"So it's really over..."

Right when she was about to collapse into a post liberation nap, she heard a gasp behind her. 

"Augh! I'm getting claustrophobic!" A tiny figure crawled out a few feet from her. 

"Wait, CW?" she asked. He looked just as surprised. 

"Inu? Oh, uh, yes. I was near the site of the explosion, so I guess we got blown out here together." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Actually... considering the force of it, shouldn't you be dead or something?" 

"It'll take more than that to get rid of me." 

"Hm. Maybe we do have something in common then." 

They were quiet for a moment. Raindrops began to fall despite the generally bright sky. The distant crowd was unbothered, perhaps even celebrating. Inu almost laughed. She remembered sharing a similar sentiment a year or two earlier. 

CW floated down to the base of the pile, and she climbed after him. She started to walk towards the crowd. Her crew would come looking for her soon enough. She knew Squeak would overreact so it was probably best to find him before he had a stroke. After a few steps, she noticed CW wasn't following her. 

"What're you waiting for? Aren't you gonna go find your family? Or do you get a kick out of worrying them?" she asked.

He stared at her silently. She stared back. Finally, he came to her side. Not looking up at her, he said,

"I think you're a completely horrid woman."

She shoved her hands in her pockets and snorted. 

"That's it? You've told me that already. And in far more creative ways, I must add."

"BUT," he cut in, "I... I'm impressed. You really came through today. Even though this was a team effort, we couldn't have done this without your help. So... thank you."

She was in shock. Never in a million years did she expect something like that to come from the likes of him. She was thankful that he didn't look up.

"Like you said, it was a team effort. It was only a result of everyone doing what they had to do." she quickly recovered. 

More silence. 

"I'm glad everything worked out..." CW said with a sigh. "That evil man can never hurt anyone again." 

Inu nodded slowly. 

She couldn't help feeling relieved. Even after she escaped she'd felt tormented by the thought of the Institute. To see it reduced to dust, and to know it was in part her doing was indescribable. For a moment she dug the soles of her boots into the ground, grinding the rubble further. 

"... Inu?" 

"Yes?"

CW still didn't look up. 

"You'll never be my mom." 

"I know. I'll never want to be."

He tugged on her sleeve.

"In spite of that... do... do you think you could hold me?" 

She looked down at him. He looked down at his feet, small.

"It's just that I'm feeling so exhausted after all of this. Please?"

Inu looked him over. For the first time her disdain for him was muted. A neutrality settled in her stomach. She bent down and hoisted him up.

"Just this once."

CW closed his eyes and leaned against her. 

Inu looked beyond the crowd. The ruins of the Institute sat unevenly, periodically crumbling. It's smoke rose into the sky, eventually whisked away by the free breeze. 

She closed her eyes.

"Finally..."


End file.
